Life cycle costing analysis using the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide for flexible pavements

The Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), developed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) under the directive of the U.S. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 1-37A, is the latest development in the concept and theories for the analysis and design of new pavements and of overlays for the existing pavements. While MEPDG is waiting for its full-scale implementation and to replace the traditional pavement design methods, it is desirable to make use of the performance prediction capacity of the MEPDG for accurate life-cycle costing analysis. The objective of this study is to review the state of the art and state of the practices for LCC and the new MEPDG methodology for flexible pavement design/preservation, and explore a framework for the integration of LCC into the new MEPDG, which would help the pavement agencies to evaluate the most economic (cost-effective) flexible pavement design for a new roadway section and overlay design for an existing flexible pavement as well as the preservation (maintenance and rehabilitation) time/strategy based on MEPDG methodology.